Left-hander Jeff Locke admitted Sunday will be a little weird. He will take the same mound where he's pitched for most of his career. He will visit with the same people he used to see every day. But there will be one difference: Locke will start for the Marlins instead of the Pirates when the two play each other at 1:35 p.m. ET at PNC Park. Right-hander Ivan Nova takes the hill for Pittsburgh.

Locke pitched for the Pirates from 2011-16, starting 110 games. He posted a 4.41 ERA with the Bucs and was an All-Star in '13, but Pittsburgh did not tender him a contract this offseason. He signed a one-year deal with Miami, but he landed on the disabled list early in Spring Training with left biceps tendinitis. His third start of the season will also mark his return to Pittsburgh as a Marlin.

"We had a really good thing here for a little while, so it's special to be back," Locke said. "It's no different than when I was here. I want to take the ball every fifth day and give the team a chance to win and go until [Marlins manager] Don Mattingly comes and takes the ball from me, whenever that is. Fifth, eighth, ninth, whatever the case may be. That's my job that day. Find a good spot to hand it off to the bullpen and try to get some wins over here."

Locke posted a 3.48 ERA in his first two outings, and he is searching for his first quality start of the season. Nova, meanwhile, hasn't had a problem with that. He has tallied quality starts in 10 of his 12 outings, and he pitched a shutout the last time he faced the Marlins on April 29.

Three things to know about this game

• According to Statcast, 54.8 percent of Nova's pitches have been in the lower half of the strike zone, but batters have capitalized when Nova has left pitches up. Five of the eight home runs he has allowed have been in the upper half of the zone, including the three he gave up in his last start against the Orioles on Tuesday.

• Marlins left fielder Marcell Ozuna will try to continue his recent string of success. He is hitting .406 at the plate in his past 15 games with four home runs and 10 RBIs.

• Juan Nicasio has posted a 0.79 ERA in his past 24 relief appearances. He has only allowed one run in his past 20 innings, and he has struck out 11 batters in his past 6 2/3 innings.